Binder



Jan. 14, 1969l D. KAPLAN 3,421,503

BINDER Filed oct. 1 2. 1966 IVENTR-- f l DAV|D KAPLAN "ff *M ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,421,503 BINDER David Kaplan, 124 S. Main St., Sharon, Mass. 02067 Filed Oct. 12, 1966, Ser. No. 586,078 U.S. CL 12S-16S 10 Claims Int. Cl. A61f 13/00 This invention relates to body supports and binders. More particularly, the invention relates to binders especially designed to be worn about body joints such as the ankle, knee and elbow.

At the present time a variety of different types of elasticized straps are offered as binders or supports for such joints as the elbow, knee and ankle when an injury has occurred and/or some support is desired or required for those portions of the body. These elasticized straps are wound with a plurality of turns about each side of a joint, and the straps are intermittently crossed over from one side of the joint to the other. While these types of straps lend appreciable support to the joints, they are generally uncomfortable, particularly on the inside of the joint and tend to irritate the skin after extended use or substantial activity on the part of the wearer, which activity includes the bending of the joint. In addition, those types of straps significantly interfere with joint manipulation and impede the activities of the wearer, particularly when a number of turns of the straps are wound about the joint and cross over from one side to the other side.

.One important object of this invention is to provide binders for such joints as the knee, ankle, and elbow, which do not irritate the skin when worn, and which lend all of the necessary support to the joint.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a binder particularly designed for the joints -of the body, which does not have excessive bulk on the inside of the joint when worn.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a binder for the joints which is free of all types of fasteners.

Yet another important object of this invention is to provide a binder for the joints which may quickly be slipped on and off the body.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a binder composed of a plurality of bands and which is shaped to conform to the body without having specially cut sections in the bands to achieve the desired shape.

To accomplish these and other objects, the binder of this invention includes at least two body encircling strips, each made of an elastic material. Approximately 180 of one edge of each strip is provided with an outside fold so as to effectively reduce the width of each strip over a portion of the circumference. The strips are stitched together along their fold lines so that the axes of the two strips so stitched together form an angle with one another. This angle may be approximately 135.

These and other objects and features of this invention along with its incident advantages, will be better understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of two embodiments thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ankle binder constructed in accordance with this invention shown as it is worn on the ankle; .j

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the binder of FIG. 1 taken along the section line 2 2;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the binder illustrating one feature of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention in the form of a knee binder and shown as it is worn on the knee.

ice

The ankle binder shown in FIG. l is com-posed of three body-encircling strips 10, 12 and 14 with the strips 10 and 12 surrounding the lower leg of the wearer and the strip 14 surrounding the instep of the foot. Each of the strips 10, 12 and 14 is made of an elastic webbing stretchable in a lengthwise direction; that is, in the encircling direction about the leg and instep. The individual strips are not stretchable across their width. Thus, the diameter of the cylindrical garment formed by the strips is variable while the Width of the encircling garment cannot exceed the fixed limit established by the sums of the individual strips plus the space between the strips 10 and 12 as limited by the stitching 16 which joins them together.

The stitching 16 which joins the strips 10 and 12 is shown to be a row of faggoting stitching. The faggoting stitching does not impare the action of the elasticity of the webbing, and the edges of the webbing may readily be stretched almost as if no stitching joined the edges. The fagvoting stitching made of a cotton yarn or some similar material is not itself stretchable, and therefore the strips 10 and 12 may not be separated more than what is permitted by the length of the individual stitches 20. The faggoting stitching permits each stri-p to move transversely of the other, limited only by the length of the individual strips, and permits complete stretching of the two strips in their lengthwise direction, and also permits the stretching of one strip relative to the other.

The manner in which one strip may move transversely with respect to another is illustrated in FIG. 3. lIn that figure the edge 22 of strip 10 is shown to overlap the edge 18 of the adjacent strip 12. It will be noted that the faggoting stitching 16 readily permits this overlapping relationship without causing the edges to curl. It will also be appreciated from an inspection of that figure that one strip may be stretched while the other remains in an unstretched condition. Thus, strip 10 may be elongated while strip 12 remains normal because of the disposition and size of the individual stitches 20 which join the edge 1S on strip 12 with the edge 22 of strip 10.

Each of the strips 10, 12 and 14 made of an elastic webbing material is provided with an Helanca backing or lining 24 shown in PIG. 2, which lining does not impede the stretch of the webbing and which is most comfortable against the skin. The lining serves several functions; it helps to retain the garment in place about the body; it makes the binder comfortable on the skin, by eliminating any irritation which might otherwise occur.

In FIGS. l and 2 it will be noted that the lower edge 26 of strip 12 and the upper edge 2-8 of strip 14 are each folded back on the outside about approximately of the circumference of each strip. That is, the lower portion of strip 12 and the upper portion of strip 14 are folded over from the inside out so that the lining rnaterial 24 is exposed on the outside of the strips 10 and 12. The extent of the fold may best be appreciated by describing typical dimensions for the binder. The strips 10, 12 and 14 may each be approximately three inches in width, and the folds 30 and 32 may be approximately 3A inch measured at their deepest point; that is at their center. The fold 30y of strip 12 is shown to be at the lower edge of the strip 12 while the fold 32 is at the upper edge of strip 14 folded back from its upper edge 28.

The free edges 34 and 36 of the folds 30 and 32, respectively, which edges originally were the edges 26 and 28 of the respective strips, are stitched to the body of each of the strips by seams 38. Similar stitching 40 joins the fold lines 42 and 44 which form the new edge of the strips 12 and 14 as a continuation of the edges 26 and 28 after the folds are formed. The stitching 38 and 40 is looped around the edges of the folds and is not stretchable. Thus the stitching lends added stiffness and support to the binder. It will be appreciated that because the strips are made of an elastic webbing and the I-Ielanca lbacking does not interfere with the stretching of the strips, the folded portions 30 and 32 may be formed with a curved outer edge 34 and 36 so that the ends of the edges merge into the original edges 26 and 28, by the introduction of differential stretching across the strips. That is, the elasticity of the material allows the folds to be made along other than a straight line without causing the folded portions of the material to pucker.

In IFIG. 1 it will be noted that the panels 12 and 1.4-are only joined together by the stitching 4b along that portion of each panel which is folded over or provided with the folds 30 and 32. The remaining portion of the strips 12 and 14 are not joined together so that the edges 26 and 28 of the strips are displaced from one another and are free to move with respect to one another as the garment is bent along the stitching 40 that forms a hinge 46 between the strips. The opening between the panels 12 and 14 defined by the edges 26 and 28 allows the heel of the wearer to extend out of the garment with the panels 18 and 12 extending about the lower leg and the panel 14 extending about the instep. .It is thus evident that the strips and 12 about the lower leg and the strip 14 about the instep cooperate to support the ankle of the wearer without excessively impairing ankle manipulation.

A typical use for the binder shown in FIGS. 1 3 is for an athlete such as a football player whose ankles are regularly subjected to extreme stresses due to the nature of the movements required of him during a game. At the present time it is customary for football players to bind their ankles with the elastic bandages described in the introduction, but it is apparent that the binder of this invention may accomplish the same purpose while greatly reducing the bulk imposed by those prior art devices. The binder lends the required support to the ankle without the other disadvantages incident to those devices. Thus, it will be noted that even at the inside of the ankle where the instep joins the lower leg, very little bulk is encountered. However, additional support is given at that location by the folds and 32 and the stitching 38 and 40. At that area which is somewhat stiffer than the remaining portions of the binder, the soft lining 24 nevertheless makes the garment comfortable. It is also apparent from an inspection of FIG. 1 and the foregoing description that the binder may readily be slipped over the ankle without difiiculty. The wearer need merely slip the binder on like a sock, pointing his toes through the strips 10 and 12 and into the strip 14 until the strip 14 rests about the instep. The heel of the foot will automatically seat within the opening defined by the edges 26 and 28. The row of faggoting stitching 16 lwhich joins the strips 10 and 12 allows for some relative movement between these strips when the ankle is moved. Thus, if the toes are pointed upwardly at a severe angle and the panel 12 moves with respect to the panel 14 along the line of stitching 40 which serves as a hinge between them, which in turn may force the strip 12 upwardly somewhat on the foot, the upper edge 18 of the strip 12 may overlap the lower edge 22 of the strip 10 in the manner suggested in FIG. 3. It will be noted that the inside of the garment is free of all folds or exposed edges that can irritate the skin; there are no seams that lie above the surface of the lining to cause discomfort.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is substantially identical to that shown in FIG. 1, but each of the encircling strips 50, 52 and 54 has a somewhat greater width and diameter than the strips 10, 12 and 14 of the ankle strap. Like the strips of the ankle binder, the strips 52 and 54 are joined by faggoting stitching 56, and each of the strips shown is made of an elastic webbing material stretchable in a lengthwise or encircling direction, and each is lined with an Helanca backing material.

The edges 58 and 60 of the strips 52 and 54, respectively, are folded outwardly to form folds 62 and 64 stitched together along their edges at 66 to form the hinge between the two binder parts. The free edges of the folds are also stitched to the strips, all in the same manner as in the binder of FIGS. l-3. The angle between the two parts is the same as the angle in the ankle binder, and the hinge stitching 66 extends about approximately 180 of the circumference of the article. Thus, other than in size the two embodiments shown are identical and provide the same advantages to the wearer.

However, the reduced bulk on the inside of the knee is particularly noticeable and important in the knee binder of FIG. 4. At the knee, as at the elbow, the joint has a great deal of freedom (perhaps and the inside of the joint can close rather closely. Consequently any bulk on the inside of the joint will markedly impede this action and irritate the skin. The bulk created by the folds 62 and 64 is not significant in impeding the motion of the knee and is markedly less than the bulk created by the multiple windings of bandages in the prior are described in the introduction. tIt will also be noted in FIG. 4 that a strip 68 covers the stitched-together ends of the panel 54 while a strip 70 extends over and joins the stitched-together ends of the strips 50 and 52. Similar strips are provided in the ankle binder of FIG. l, but these strips are not visible because they lie under the arch of the foot and behind the ankle of the wearer.

While in each of the embodiments shown, one side of the binder has two strips and the other has one; it is to be understood that there may be one, two, or more on each side so as to lie on opposite sides of the joint when the binder is worn. The inner edge of the inner strip on each side is folded and stitched as shown to form a hinge between the two parts. In each case, the hinge area defining the two sections of the binder is made relatively strong due to the folds without adding extra stiffness or bulk.

The ability of each of the binders of this invention to remain in place about the joint is another important advantage. The binders of the prior art do not do so. For example, the conventional knee binders used by basketball players creep down over the knee as the player runs about the court. The more active the player, the more rapidly the binder will creep downwardly on the thigh and over the knee to the lower leg. With the present invention, the binder remains fixed about the joint evenV when the wearer is very active, and the wearer will not be constantly required to tug at the binder to keep it in place.

From the foregoing description those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous modifications may be made of this invention without departing from its spirit. Therefore, it is not intended that the breadth of this invention be limited to the two embodiments illustrated and described. Rather, it is intended that the scope of this invention be determined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:

1. A binder comprising rst and second strips adapted to encircle a portion of the body and made of an elasticized webbing stretchable in a body encircling direction,

said strips being disposed one beside the other with one side edge of one strip lying adjacent one side edge of the other strip,

a fold provided along a portion of the one side edge of each of said strips,

and a row of stitching joining the two strips along the one edge and substantially conned to the portions of those edges which are folded and with the remaining portions of those edges detached,

said stitching forming a hinge between the two strips.

2. A binder as dened in claim 1 further characterized said strips being each provided with a soft stretchable lining.

3. A binder as defined in claim 1 further characterized said folds lying on the outside of each strip and having a curved configuration with the ends of the fold merging into the one edges of each strip. 4. A binder as defined in claim 3 further characterized by said strips being each provided with a soft stretchable lining. 5. A binder as defined in claim 1 further characterized by each of said strips forming a continuous sleeve with the axis of each sleeve forming an angle of approximately 135 at the region of the hinge. 6. A binder as defined in claim 5 further characterized by a third strip made of the same material as the others and forming a continuous sleeve with one edge of the third strip stitched to the other edge of one of the other of the two strips about its full circumference. 7. A binder as defined in claim 6 further characterized by the stitching joining the third strip to the other strip being faggoting stitching. 8. A binder as defined in claim S further characterized by said folds lying on the outside of each strip and having a curved conliguration with the ends of the fold merging into the one edges of each strip,

said folds extending about approximately of each of said one edges.

9. A binder as defined in claim 8 further characterized by said strips being each provided with a soft stretchable lining. 10. A binder as defined in claim 5 further characterized by each of said strips having parallel edges throughout their length, excluding the region of the folds.

References Cited UNiTED STATES PATENTS 1,727,897 9/1929 Myers etal 128-165 3,000,378 9/1961 Zieman 128-165 3,115,879 12/1963 Kaplan 12S-541 ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

1. A BINDER COMPRISING FIRST AND SECOND STRIPS ADAPTED TO ENCIRCLE A PORTION OF THE BODY AND MADE OF AN ELASTICIZED WEBBLING STRETCHABLE IN A BODY ENCIRCLING DIRECTION, SAID STRIPS BEING DISPOSED ON BESIDE THE OTHER WITH ONE SIDE EDGE OF ONE STRIP LYING ADJACENT ONE SIDE EDGE OF THE OTHER STRIP, THE FOLD PROVIDED ALONG A PORTION OF THE ONE SIDE EDGE OF EACH OF SAID STRIPS, AND A ROW OF STICHING JOINING THE TWO STRIPS ALONG THE ONE EDGE AND SUBSTANTIALLY CONFINED TO THE PORTIONS OF THOSE EDGES WHICH ARE FOLDED AND WITH THE REMAINING PORTIONS OF THOSE EDGES DETACHED, SAID STITCHING FORMING A HINGE BETWEEN THE TWO STRIPS. 